Title: Every Girl Should Have
Fandom: Due South
Rating: gen
Length: 447
Content notes:
Author notes: Written for Amnesty Challenge
Summary: Rayk looks after Ma Vecchio,



Just like every week since he had become Ray Vecchio, Ray picked up Ma Vecchio to take her shopping. Even now he was back to being Ray Kowalski, he loved taking her out and treating her to dinner and helping her with her grocery shopping.

Today they’d decided to go to the market and browse the antique shops to see if anything caught their eye. Linking arms with Ray, Ma spoke with a happy tone to her voice, “I haven’t been to the market in such a long time, thank you for bringing me here.”

Smiling at her Ray replied, “You are very welcome, I love coming here as well, you never know what treasure you could find.”

Nodding in agreement she replied, “Yes you are right, you never know.”

They made their way into one of the antique shops, looking at all the wonders that it held.

One particular item caught Ma’s eye, it was a diamond and pearl ring and it stood out from everything else that the store had to offer.

She gasped when she saw it and that made Ray jump and ask, “Ma, is everything OK? Did something happen?”

Patting his arm to reassure him, Ma replied with a hint of tightness to her voice, “Yes, sorry dear, it’s just that ring looks identical to my great-grandmother’s ring which was stolen from our house twenty years ago.”

Going over to the counter, Ray asked her, “Would you know if it is the same one if you held it?”

Ma nodded, not taking her eyes off the ring. “Yes,” she answered, “my great-grandfather engraved the words ‘I Love You’ on the inside of the band.”

Ray then asked the shop keeper, “Sir, could we please see the diamond and pearl ring?”

Showing them a genuine smile he handed over the ring, “Of course, Sir.”

Ma looked at it and sure enough the engraving ‘I Love You’ was inside.

Tears sprung to Ma’s eyes on seeing it, but it belonged to the shop now, there was no way to prove it had once belonged to her and there was no way she could afford to buy back it at the cost of $600.

The shop keeper was sympathetic and brought the price down, but she still couldn’t afford it and they left in silence.

Two days passed and Ma arrived home from her church group to see a card and parcel on her kitchen table. Picking up the card she read:

Ma, this is for you,
Every lady should have diamonds and pearls,
This was once yours and is now yours again,

All my love, your blonde son,

Ray xxxx

Ma opened the box and inside was the ring her great-grandmother had given her. She had treasured it before, but now she would treasure it forever, thanks to one Stanley Raymond Kowalski.

The End